Tomorrow!!!

Today is our final day here in Guangzhou. We will go to the consulate and do the final step in this long process. All in all it has been a wonderful trip. Gracie is not the same girl who was "forced" into our arms 10 days ago. Each day she opens up a little more. Yesterday she discovered the joy of jumping on the bed! She wanders around the room singing Chinese children's songs and dancing. And she's really starting to be a talker, both in English and Chinese. It's really cute to see. Lily is beginning to see how much fun she can be and the two play really well together.
Lily will probably spend most of the day at the pool, as this is her last chance for awhile. She has really gotten brown! Both of her little friends have already left so she's stuck with boring old adults for the duration. All of us are anxious to get home, but dreading the flight. Lily is worried that she'll throw up again. She made all of us promise to give her our barf bags as soon as we board!
We have made some great friends here. The last week has been almost like a vacation because most of the paperwork is finished and the babies are really doing well. If you can believe this, we had room service deliver our lunch to the pool yesterday!!! Then the women went and had foot massages that lasted about 75 minutes and started at the tops of our heads!! It was a real luxury, and cost (including tip) 60 yuan each (that's about $8!). Today we will finish packing and the last-minute shopping. We will probably have one more group dinner tonight, which will be bittersweet for all of us. We have been through quite an experience with these people!
We will be arriving in Spokane on Saturday morning at 11:10, Alaska flight 2352 from Portland. Hope to see many of you there, and I can't wait for you to meet the newest member of the family! She will fit in nicely!!!
See you soon!

Computer Issues

It has come to my attention that Blogspot is not quite working. Apparently we post, then it gets "edited" and sometimes the post never appears!!! I will e-mail the group and see if that works!

Catching Up

I know, I know! I've been remiss in my blogging. But the days are so confused here, and sometimes we have to choose between quiet time or fun time for Lily (who is frankly bored with the whole thing) and touching base. Thank heavens for Kristen who is at least keeping the family up to date!!! She and Jeannie have been invaluable!
Today we go for Gracie's physical and visa photo. She still has the "kennel cough" but is otherwise doing very well. We had two days of mom-only, which frustrated everyone, but today spent time in Jeannie's room without me, and is right now hanging out with dad. He's trying very hard to be patient, and said last night he knew Lily was an exception in that she went to him immediately. But we all have to remember that today marks only one week since Grace has been with us.
We are really starting to see her personality. She is definitely 3!!! She can be very mischievous and has a devilish twinkle in her eye when she knows she's doing something she shouldn't! She is quickly learning what "no" means as we find ourselves saying it quite frequently! Gracie's language is coming along. She says all our names, including her own (Gracie, not Xi Dong) when we point to people. She knows boat, bye-bye, love you, potty, water, juice, more (as in food!).
Gracie has some weird behaviors, almost OCD. I've already told you about the slippers. When she goes to get toilet paper after going, she unrolls exactly enough to get to the floor, then she tears at the perforation. If it doesn't rip cleanly she goes to the roll next to it and starts again. I'm trying to get her over that. Our bathrooms at home only have one dispenser!!!
We have received some nice surprises. We got a whole book of pictures and journals from the Half the Sky Foundation of Gracie at school in the orphanage. She looks very happy and stimulated in the photos. Our guide is going to arrange for translation of the journals before we leave. It was so nice to see that she wasn't left in a corner somewhere and that she had friends and adults who cared about her. Last night we got a copy of her "finding notice." This is the ad that ran in the papers searching for her parents. There is a picture and a short notice from March 2005. The ad said she had a big mouth!!! When she cries she does (also when she eats)!
We are all getting a little stir crazy, but can see light at the end of the tunnel. We only have one tour left, the zoo, and the rest is paperwork for the consulate. We're well and can't wait to come home!!!
More info and pictures later.

I know you don't really want to hear about every little detail, you just want pictures!! Here she is playing with dad. We had a big day today. It is Gracie's 3rd birthday. We went to a beautiful park where her skirt fell all the way to her ankles and she was oblivious! Then we had a potty emergency and the Warnes girls (G & L) peed on the street in front of the Sun Yat Sen Memorial!! More about that later. We go to a BBQ restaurant for a birthday celebration, then cake and ice cream!! All in all, a very memorable birthday!

Trying again with the pictures

Here is my second attempt at downloading. Good luck to us all!

OK, here is the deal. Apparently there is an error with the blogspot site right now and I get an error every time I try to attach the photos!!! So Sorry!

Day Four, All is Well

We are slowly but surely getting to know each other. Gracie is good at communicating her needs, whether by pointing or shaking her head, or looking troubled (this means "find the potty!"). She continues to astound us with what she knows and what she has already been trained to do. We don't walk around without slippers on, even to go potty in the middle of the night. We zip our own coats. We button. We feed ourselves using forks and spoons. It's like watching a little adult! She is still very quiet, but yesterday for the first time we were treated to giggles and smiles! What a sight that was!!!
Lily is being a great big sister. She is patient and gentle with her, and eager to help.
Yesterday we went to the Guangzhou version of Walmart! What an experience! The meat counter especially was an eye-opener. Gracie had to go potty and there were only the "squatty-potty" kind. I was so nervous but she went right in and used it like a pro. I wished I'd had a camera!!!
The White Swan has moved us because they are starting renovation on our floor. They put us in the adjacent apartments. We now have about 1700 square feet at our disposal!! Two bedrooms, two baths, a full kitchen, full laundry, living room, dining room, office, and 3 lanais!!! Jeannie and Kristen are next door in about 1200 square feet!!!!! Needless to say we are satisfied.
Here is a picture of Lily and Gracie so you can get an idea of her size. Tiny! Will try to blog more now that the Chinese side of things is over. We got our red book (the official adoption certificate) yesterday and are now just waiting for the passport. Next week we start with the Americans! Today we go to the Buddhist temple for a family blessing. Every time we walk by a Buddha Gracie points and smiles. Looks like we will be bringing one home.
Love to all and keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We can't wait to be home!

p.s.Well, I tried several times and can't seem to get the picture on here. Will try again after the Temple visit!!!

What a Beautiful Girl!

We have Gracie!! She is beautiful and precious and wonderful! When she first laid eyes on us she screamed bloody murder! But after about 5 minutes the screaming had turned into keening. Very different from Lily as Gracie is old enough to actually be mourning her loss. But today she was up to all sorts of adventures, from riding in the stroller to shopping to eating strawberry ice cream. She has a wonderful appetite and will try most anything. She still isn't used to the concept of seconds! She took a three-hour nap and had two BM's, so she's right on track. Gracie is doing very well with the potty, only one accident and that was because we didn't pick up on the signals.
We are in the business office at the White Swan and will attempt to get some pictures for you. We are all well and happy and loving our new family!! Lily is feeling much better and is a great Jie Jie.